IgA Nephropathy in Leprosy

To the Editor.  —Leprosy is a disease still present in some parts of Spain, where it represents a substantial health problem.Renal involvement was first described by Mitsuda and Ogawa¹ in 1937, and, since then, numerous patients with amyloidosis and interstitial or glomerular nephropathies have been described, mainly in the lepromatous form of the disease. In recent randomized studies, ten (50%) of 20 patients² and eight (23%) of 35 patients³ with lepromatous leprosy had evidence of proliferative glomerulonephritis.So far, exudative and proliferative glomerulonephritis, focal proliferative glomerulonephritis, and nonproliferative glomerulonephritis with isolated mesangial sclerosis have been described. In some cases, the histologic study has included immunofluorescent examinations that showed granular deposits of IgG and complement and sometimes IgM. Only one patient had IgA, and, in this case, IgA was not the preponderant immunoglobulin.In an attempt to contribute further to the spectrum of glomerular pathology associated with